The Man Who Turned Blue - The Dangers of Colloidal Silver

The Man Who Turned BlueThe Dangers of Colloidal Silver

The Man Who Turned BlueThe Dangers of Colloidal Silver

For many years Paul Karason drank a solution known as colloidal silver,
which is touted by many as being a cure all and remedy for just about
any disease, illness or health problem there is. The problem is that
colloidal silver does none of this, but it does cause a condition called
argyria where the skin of users turn blue after ingesting this quack
remedy.

There is no cure for argyria and Paul Karason will live
the rest of his life with blue skin. Don't fall for the quacks and
charlatans who promote colloidal silver as a "supplement" with health
benefits. Contact the FDA today and ask them to ban this dangerous
compound from human use.

Argyria is a condition caused by improper exposure to chemical forms of the element silver, silver dust, or silver compounds.

The
most dramatic symptom of argyria is that the skin becomes blue or
bluish-grey colored. Argyria may be found as generalized argyria or
local argyria.

Argyrosis is the corresponding condition related
to the eye. The condition is believed to be permanent, but laser
therapy has been used to treat it with satisfactory cosmetic results.

In
animals and humans, silver accumulates in the body over time. Chronic
intake of silver products can result in an accumulation of silver or
silver sulfide particles in the skin. As in photography (where silver is
used due to its reactivity with light), these particles in the skin
darken with exposure to sunlight, resulting in a blue or gray
discoloration of the skin.

This condition is known as argyria.
Chronic ingestion of silver can similarly lead to an accumulation of
silver in the eye (argyrosis) and in other organs. Localized argyria can
occur as a result of topical use of substances containing silver, while
generalized argyria results from the chronic ingestion of such
substances.The Man Who Turned BlueReal life 'Blue Man' Shrugs off Skin Color

Argyria
is generally believed to be irreversible, with the only practical
method of minimizing its cosmetic disfigurement being to avoid the sun,
but laser therapy has been used to treat it with satisfactory cosmetic
results.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) describes argyria as a "cosmetic problem", which is not harmful,
but it is mildly disfiguring and thus some people find it to be
socially debilitating.

Generally, "silver exhibits low
toxicity in the human body, and minimal risk is expected due to clinical
exposure," when silver or silver compounds are used in the treatment of
external infections or in medical appliances.

Lansdown states that
"Chronic ingestion or inhalation of silver preparations (especially
colloidal silver) can lead to deposition of silver metal/silver sulphide
particles in the skin (argyria), eye (argyrosis) and other organs.

These
are not life-threatening conditions but cosmetically undesirable.” This
view is supported by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) and other authorities. Only one death has been reported
in the medical literature which the authors felt was due to silver
toxicity.

In that case a 71-year-old man developed status
epilepticus after repeated oral ingestion of colloidal silver. The
reference dose, published by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency in 1991, which recommends the estimated daily exposure which is
unlikely to incur a appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a
lifetime, is 5 µg/kg/d; meaning 5 microgram of silver per kilo of weight
per person each day – about 1 liter of 10 ppm colloidal silver per
month for a 66 kg person.

Since at least
the early part of the 20th century, doctors have known that silver or
silver compounds can cause some areas of the skin and other body tissues
to turn gray or blue-gray. Argyria occurs in people who ingest or
inhale silver in large quantities over a long period (several months to
many years).

People who work in factories that manufacture silver
can also breathe in silver or its compounds. In the past, some of these
workers have become argyric. However, the level of silver in the air
and the length of exposure that caused argyria in these workers is not
known.

Man's Skin is Still Blue

Paul Karason is still his remarkable hue due to ingesting colloidal silver - Sept. 10th, 2009

Picasso
had his blue period and then moved on to different colors. Paul Karason
knows where the famous artist was coming from. After literally living
the blues for more than a decade, the real-life Blue Boy is ready to try
a different color.

Im anxious to try green, Karason joked to TODAYs Matt Lauer in New York Thursday. You get a little bored with blue.

A
year and a half ago, Karason vaulted from life as a relative recluse to
Internet fame when he first appeared on TODAY to tell how he turned his
skin the color of a ripe Concord grape with years of self-administered
doses of colloidal silver.

Historically,
colloidal silver, a liquid suspension of microscopic silver particles,
was also used as an internal medication to treat a variety of diseases.

In
the 1940s they were discontinued due to both the development of safe
and effective modern antibiotics and concern about argyria and other
side effects of silver products.

A
prominent case was that of Stan Jones of Montana, a Libertarian
candidate for the United States Senate in 2002 and 2006. Jones acquired
argyria through consumption of a home-made silver product that he made
due to fears that the Year 2000 problem would make antibiotics
unavailable.

The peculiar colouration of his skin was featured
prominently in media coverage of his unsuccessful campaign, though Jones
contends that the best-known photo was "doctored". Jones promised that
he was not using his silvery complexion as a gimmick.

He
continues to promote the use of colloidal silver as a home remedy. He
has said that his good health, minus the unusual skin tone, is the
result of his use of colloidal silver.

On December 20, 2007 the
world press published stories about Paul Karason, a California man whose
entire skin gradually turned blue after consuming colloidal silver made
by himself with distilled water, salt and silver, and using a silver
salve on his face in an attempt to treat problems with his sinus,
dermatitis, acid reflux, and other issues. This happened because he
drank gallons of colloidal silver per week for years.

Since
the 1990s, "colloidal silver" has been marketed as an alternative
medicine product, with unsubstantiated, and in some jurisdictions
illegal, claims of effectiveness. Medical authorities advise against the
use of such colloidal silver preparations, as does the published
medical literature, because of their lack of proven effectiveness and
the risk of side effects.

Colloidal silver preparations primarily
deliver inactive metallic silver, rather than the active microbicidal
silver ion. There is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness
of colloidal silver in vivo. Some in vitro studies demonstrate an
anti-bacterial effect of colloidal silver, although one study in 2004 of
a colloidal silver solution marketed on the Internet showed no such
antimicrobial activity.